The International Baccalaureate
by Gavvy Wolf-Kidd
Summary: From my point-of-view. Basically what I want my first day at college to be like. Rated for swearing.
1. History

_Hi guys! I know I should be working on FVA- which WILL be updated soon, btw- but let me get this out of my head! I've been talking to Kaseykc a lot recently, something like this came up in conversation, and since I'm starting college this is from my point of view, and I think you'll love this little thing because it's every fangirl's dream. It's named after the course I'm doing at college, simply because I couldn't think of anything else to name it._

_Enjoy!_

_G, xxx_

**The International Baccalaureate**

**Chapter one: History**

"Of all the teachers in all of this bloody school, _we_ have to be stuck with Miss-bloody-Jackson!" I groaned, resting my head against the wall. I turned to Mariam- as usual, her face was totally blank. "Aren't you going to say something?" I asked, taking my head away from the wall. She cocked her head to the side and smiled slightly. "She's behind me, isn't she?" I deadpanned.

"No," Mariam said in her soft, high-pitched voice. "I just like seeing you get all worked up."

"Sadist." I spat jokingly. "Come on, what have you got first?" I asked, picking up my black leather messenger bag and making my way down the hallway through the crowd of boys and girls. To be honest, my first day at a mixed college after five years in an all-girls' school was _very_ refreshing.

"Double History." She said bluntly, walking along beside me. She was wearing a black-and-pink lace tutu with a black short-sleeved t-shirt designed with a silver-studded skull on the abdomen while the whole outfit finished with a pair of pink-and-black tights and a clunky pair of black Kickers. I felt like a total boy next to her in my black long-sleeved with "HATE Is Not A Family Value" written in white letters, over my black straight-legged jeans and black plimsolls.

"I have the same." I grumbled as we reached our classroom and marched in to find that we were the first two to show up. The teacher was standing by the desk in a pair of plain black slacks with cream suspenders over a pale blue, long-sleeved shirt. He was organising some paperwork and didn't noticed us until Mariam knocked on the door. He looked back with surprise in his sparkling blue eyes. "Hello girls!" He smiled. This was going to be interesting, since we had a pretty damn sexy- _American_- history teacher. Whereas I could see the waterfall rushing out of Mariam's mouth, I didn't feel anything to make me somewhat like that. The teacher eyed my shirt and said; "Wow- you must be Hannah." He walked up to me and shook my hand. "I got a call from Miss Gorman- your History teacher at your secondary school- and she said you were the best student she ever had." I felt nothing.

"Oh really?" I tried to look somewhat interested.

"Yeah, she told me about the thank-you cards you gave out at the end of the year, after your exams. She was practically crying because hers was so thoughtful." He answered. You'd think that a teacher saying something like that would make me blush, but it didn't. The Yank could see that he wasn't making any emotional impact on me, and I expected him to give up like the teachers at my secondary school had, but he continued, wrapping an arm around my shoulders; "She said you got a B in History, whereas a girl named Adefunke got an A. Hannah, why is that?"

"My handwriting's shit." I said simply, breaking away from him and making my way to a seat at the front, nearest the wall and right next to a window. Mariam followed and sat next to me. The Yank turned back to organising the classroom, and after five minutes, the room was filled with students, and when the bell struck nine-fifteen, the teacher turned to us, then looked at me and winked- I stared off into space- and he introduced himself as Mr. Harkness. He had been a teacher for ten years and was in a relationship with a guy. Everyone else squirmed while I remained staring at the whiteboard, waiting for him to start the lesson.

When he finally did, it was on something I was rather interested in- war. Albeit the Falklands. I pricked up my ears and saw him smile as he asked if anybody knew what the war was. I raised my hand. Correction- I was the _only_ one to raise my hand. Mr. Harkness smiled and said; "Yes, Hannah?"

I lowered my hand and explained; "The Falklands Conflict was fought over seventy-four days between Argentina and the United Kingdom for ownership of the Falkland Islands. The Argentineans wanted the Islands to be Argentinean, and the British wanted the Islands to be British, considering that they were already British before the war actually _started_. This annoyed the Argentineans because the Islands are Geographically Argentinean, and therefore are Argentinean property, but in the years prior to the Conflict, the British had invaded the Islands and populated them with British settlers."

"Excellent!" Mr. Harkness smiled. "Hannah, I can easily tell you're going to get a 7 in this course! Tell me- how did you know that?"

I shrugged. "I just knew it." I deadpanned. I could feel everyone's eyes burning into me, and it was then that I realised my first mistake- I had just branded myself "School Geek", and I knew that for the next two years, Mariam would be the only friend I had.

The two hours dragged by slowly, and I studied my books intensely, and noted that I was surrounded by idiots. When the double-period was up, I tried to be the first to leave, but Mr. Harkness stopped me and I ended up being the last, and while I waited for the teacher to explain why he stopped me, everyone trailed out- the girls gave me jealous glares and the boys gave me the look which basically said "I aint taking you to the prom!" The room was empty with the exceptions of Mr. Harkness and me. The Yank turned to me and said in a low voice; "Miss Gorman warned me about you."

"Pardon?"

"She warned me that you're too clever for your own good." He said, keeping his voice low. "Listen, Hannah, I think you're going to be my best student, and quite frankly you're already my favourite, but if I were you, I would keep that fountain of knowledge you call a brain confined to your essays- I don't want you to get hurt because of your intelligence."

"Okay sir." I said plainly. "Can I ask a favour, sir?"

"Anything." He leant back against his desk in an almost seductive manner, crossing his legs and smiling a full-toothed grin.

"Don't call me 'Hannah', please. I hate that name."

"Why?"

"Because my nickname through years ten and eleven was 'Hannah Montana', and in my opinion that makes me sound like a two-dollar street-walker. I wouldn't like to go through another two years of that nickname again."

He laughed.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Two-dollar street-walker." He said between chuckles. "So what would you prefer to be called?"

"Either Gavvy or Gavaudin." I said softly, tugging at my ponytail.

"Fine, Gavvy." He smiled, reaching over and hugging me. "Now run along Gav- go to the LRC and work on your Extended Essay- I think I know what it's going to be about!"


	2. The LRC

_Before I begin I just want to say that everything in this chapter (of course, with the exception of the Torchwood characters as my teachers) is pretty much true. Including the speech at the bottom- not one of my finer moments when I gave it in reality, but one of my finer moments in the world of fiction._

**The International Baccalaureate**

**Chapter Two: The LRC**

'LRC' stood for 'Learning Resources Centre', a poshed-up way of saying 'The Library'. It was an enormous room filled with bookcases, desks, chairs, computers and a few ports where you could listen to the audio books of what you were studying. When I first saw it, I was in heaven, but Mariam refused to let up since I walked out of the History classroom.

"... I could _so_ tell that he has the hots for you!" she concluded as we came up to the front desk where a man with black hair and deep blue eyes was standing, sorting through a couple of books. I chanced a peek at the front cover of one of them "_Mathematical Studies- SL"_ Terrific. I pulled out my ID card and showed it to the librarian- a woman of around sixty with her white hair pulled back into a ponytail. I quickly made my way over to the nearest desk and pulled out my A5 notebook. I sat down and opened it to the front page where I had listed the possibilities for my Extended Essay:

_Hitler's Private Library_

_Review of "Pride and Prejudice"_

_Anthropological comparison of Emily Dickinson poems_

I looked at the small list as Mariam sat across from me.

"I thought you started your Essay after you finished your GCSE coursework!" She said, shocked. "What did you say it was going to be about? Winston Churchill or some other war geezer?"

"Churchill's life before the Second World War." I said blankly. "But since I got two A*'s in English and a B in my favourite subject, I've felt kind of, well, indifferent to History."

"Says the girl who 'just knew' what the Falklands Conflict was!" She smiled. I glared at her. She gasped. "Don't let Mr. Harkness hear you say you're indifferent to History! He'll never forgive you!"

"Are you quite finished?" I asked softly. "Unlike you, my mind works in ten-thousand different ways, and since I have six subjects to study for, two essays to complete, a T.O.K. presentation to give, and the C.A.S., that equals to one-thousand ways that my mind can go for everything. You may not have noticed, but pissing about is going to get neither of us anywhere, so we may as well make a start on the Extended Essay while we are sure of what we want it to be about!"

Mariam was looking at me with a weird gaze. For a moment, I thought that I had been shouting, but when I looked around I saw that it was just us, the Maths Studies teacher and the librarian- both of whom were having a quiet chat at the desk. I turned back to my friend. "What?"

"Geez, Hannah, I was just thinking that you shouldn't be a teacher!" She said, pulling out her notebooks.

"We've been through this," I said. "If I do any other job, I won't feel like I'm making a different because I won't see the people I'm helping."

"You could see the people you're helping if you became a politician." She smiled.

"Why would I want to become a politician?" I asked, taking offence. "Given the current stigma, I would not be comfortable as a politician. Just because I'm morally strong that doesn't mean I won't cave in and use taxpayer money for every little thing I need like the rest of them!"

"Yeah, but you've got so many ideas, Hannah." She said, as though trying to convince me that politics was the best career choice in the world. She stretched, pulling her arms up over her head then lowering them to the table. "You get really passionate about things, and you speak so passionately about current issues like immigration. Remember back at HAB when you read in the paper about how religious schools will have the right to preach out against and encourage hatred towards homosexuality? Everyone else except for you, I, Emma and Miss Williamson was agreeing with that article. Whereas us three were too nervous to argue against them, you stood up and gave that speech."

"What speech?" Asked a Welshman. We both looked up and saw the Maths Studies teacher hovering over us. "Pardon me for being nosy," he apologised. "I enjoy a good speech by the everyman, or, in your cases, everywoman." He smiled at us then held his hand out to me and introduced himself as Mr. Jones- he would be teaching Mathematical Studies this year. Mariam offered him a seat next to me. Before I could protest, he sat next to me and unbuttoned his black-and-white pinstripe suit coat and hung it off the back off his chair, revealing a black waistcoat, a white shirt and a black tie. "So," he said. "Tell me more about this speech that was given."

"Well," Mariam cut in. "Hannah here read an article in The Guardian which basically said that religious schools now have the right to preach against and encourage hatred towards homosexuality. Everyone else was agreeing with it, but she, I, a teacher and another student weren't. Me, the teacher and the student were too nervous to speak against them, but Hannah stood up and started talking about how wrong it is that religions are preaching that something is wrong just because of what's in a book."

Mr. Jones made a noise, showing that he was interested. He looked at me and smiled. I remained stoic. "Do you remember any of this speech you gave, Hannah?" He asked.

Again, Mariam cut in before I could speak; "Of course she does! She's got a terrific memory! She practically memorised the whole dictionary the first time she looked at it!" Mr. Jones smiled at me again. _Why the fuck is everybody smiling so much?_

"Whenever you're ready." He said, intrigued. I gave a hateful glare to Mariam and took a deep breath, preparing for the worst as I recited the speech I gave in November of last year;

"Two thousand years ago, the Bible was written. It was far longer and more detailed than the two-thousand page sleeping pill we know and love today. About three-hundred years later, Emperor Constantine edited the Bible, to give us to modern-day version. Over periods of time, the Bible has gone from Aramaic to Latin to Saxon to Celtic to English. That's two thousand pages going through five different languages; now tell me that there has never been a mistake made when a text is translated by one with hardly any expertise in a language, like the original Bible was translated by Latin-speakers with very little knowledge of Aramaic. This means that some of the commandments may not _be_ commandments after all. This means that some of the original passages may not be true to 'the word of God' as the Bible is deemed to be. Proof of this is a papyrus of the Book of Revelations found in 2005, proving that 666 is not the 'Number of the Beast', as so often thought by many Christians today. This papyrus proved that the Number is in fact 6_1_6, and poses the question; 'can the Bible really be trusted after so many centuries?'

"I thought the Christianity was supposed to teach that everyone is equal, and that there should be peace between everyone. One of the Deadly Sins is Pride, and in my experience, all of the Christians I have met are over-proud, obnoxious twats who quite frankly need a lesson in open-mindedness. This just goes to show that these Christians are hypocrites, because they have, in my opinion, taken too much pride in their religion, and are therefore committing one a cardinal sin. That being said, how can anybody say that homosexuality is wrong and a sin, when many Christians are sinning by taking too much pride in their religion and when God created us to be unique, to love? Homosexuality is just another way of expressing one's love for another, and cannot be a sin when so many others are sinning in worse ways. Is not one of the commandments 'Thou shall not kill'? It is, and is number five on a list of ten, or perhaps a hundred- we cannot be sure.

"There is scientific proof that homosexuality is genetic, environmental and not just a choice as many have been brainwashed to believe. Many species of animals have exhibited signs of homosexuality, such as hamsters, guinea pigs, horses and dogs! If a girl is sexually abused by a man in early childhood, she is almost certain to become a lesbian because psychologically she is unable to trust men anymore. The same goes for boys, although this is a rare case for males, as it is more likely for a male to become homosexual without such provocation.

"Therefore, homosexuality is nothing to be hated, feared or avoided, but is something to be loved, welcomed and shared."

As I closed-off the speech, I heard clapping behind me. I looked back, as did Mariam and Mr. Jones, and saw a group of five students, all dressed smartly in shirts and jeans with red badges pinned to their chests, and one teacher with dark hair and gap in her front teeth. All six of them were clapping.

"Excellent!" The teacher said- she had a Welsh accent just like Mr. Jones.

_God help me!_ I screamed inside my head as the teacher ran over to me.

"No running in the LRC!" The librarian called over just as the teacher knelt down to my level.

"Hello, I'm Mrs. Williams." She smiled, and I instantly felt uncomfortable. She motioned back to the five students. "I teach a Politics class as well as Law, and I couldn't help but overhear that remarkable argument you just gave!" She smiled wider, making me feel even more uncomfortable. My hands were beginning to sweat, along with my legs and bottom. "Might I ask what your name is?"

"Er..." I stuttered. Her smile softened as she _finally _saw my discomfort. "Hannah. Hannah Clark." I said.

"Well, Hannah," she said. I could tell what she was thinking. I just knew it. "A position has opened up in the Debate club, and I'm guessing you're a Politics student, aren't you? Why am I even asking? Of course you are! Nobody can argue that well!"

"Actually I'm an IB student." I said before she could say anything else.

"That's just as good," she said, backtracking slightly. "If not, then better! We need somebody on the Debate team who can argue like you just did. If you're interested, then pop by my room- Po36 in the Main Building- and we'll have a nice chat about it." With that, she left, and I was in a daze. I turned back to Mariam.

"What the hell just happened?" I asked.

"Language." Mr. Jones said sternly, then softened. "You were just asked by Mrs. Williams to join the Debate team, which, in my opinion, you would be perfect for if you're doing the IB. This could be your C.A.S., you know."

"Yes," I said vaguely. "Although I hate debating unless it's about topic I can be passionate about without having to force myself."

"It's still up to you, but, for the record," he gave me a sincere stare. "I'd gladly take you as my lawyer if I was ever being sued for something 'evil' relating to my orientation." He left as well, and left Mariam and me to our studying. I could feel her jealousy boiling away like a witch's cauldron. I looked at her and said; "What? I don't know if you've noticed, but I _attract_ stuff like this! Do you really think I enjoy it? If you do, then quit thinking it, because I hate attracting stuff that I'm not interested in." She just smiled and bent her head over a notebook, and started scribbling. I followed suit and opened up a book of poetry. We stayed like that for a couple of hours, just reading and writing, until the bell rang and it was time for English.


	3. English

_Hi guys- just a little note; Miss Baker and I formed our student-teacher relationship because we both loved Doctor Who, not Star Trek. Just thought I'd let you know! Oh, and if you search 'Trainreq', you will get proof that I am not lying about the pictures._

_G, xxx_

**The International Baccalaureate**

**Chapter Three: English**

The room was quiet, especially shocking since there were more boys in English than there were in History. The teacher was a stern-looking woman, with slightly tanned skin, a bent nose which indicated a deviated septum and curly brown hair which had the faintest hint of highlights. She was young, but her angry brown eyes showed that she harboured more years of experience than everyone's ages combined.

"I'm Miss Costello." She said bluntly, moving across the front of the room. "I will be teaching you English for the next two years, and don't think that just because you are doing the International Baccalaureate, that is an excuse to act cocky and bigheaded in this classroom," she turned with deadly precision and stared at my desk, at me and Mariam sitting side-by-side. "Don't for one moment think that you can talk in my class, because I will _not_ have it. I will have you kicked off of the Diploma, and you will do regular A-Levels instead." She kept her gaze on my table. We both looked at each other with confused faces, which only aggravated Miss Costello.

"Is there something funny, girls?" She asked acidly. Me and Mariam broke our glances and turned to the teacher.

"No, Miss Costello." We said in unison.

"Don't lie to me!" She spat, marching forward, and then she saw something which made her stop- my shirt. She mouthed the words, 'hate is not a family value', and looked into my eyes. She must have seen fear in the chameleon eyes behind golden frames. "Ah." She said at last. "You must be this 'Gavvy' Mr. Harkness has been going on about all morning."

"Huh?" Mariam said, sounding somewhat disappointed. Her confusion was reflected in my face.

"Mr. Harkness seems to really like you, 'Gav'," Miss Costello said spitefully. "He spoke very highly of your performance in his classroom this morning. He said you have the potential to be the next Einstein if you keep it up, but I don't think so, _Hannah_." I cringed as she said my real name with a tongue of ice. "Not in History, anyway. I've seen your grades, and I'm quite surprised- you are the only one in this class to have received _two_ A* grades in English!" She raised her voice as she announced the last part of that sentence. I felt my face turn red and I lowered my head. I felt Miss Costello smile at my embarrassment, and she said; "I really don't think that _Gavvy_ is a suitable nickname for you, _Hannah_," she said with a mocking tone. "I think, perhaps, _Montana_ would be a better option."

_Oh good god_. I yelled at myself. It was quite clear that this teacher had plans to humiliate me for the next two years, and she'd only known me for four minutes! English was my best subject at secondary school, and I had taken my teacher for granted. Nobody in my GCSE English class liked Miss Baker that much, but I managed to get along with her for that one year... just about. We only managed to form some sort of student-teacher relationship since we were both Trekkies, and she even scrapped my dramatic monologue in favour of some poetry for the Original Writing section of my Literature GCSE. It was so embarrassing when she read out my poem 'The Doctor and The Captain', which was based on an idea I'd had to resurrect that sci-fi television show about the man who travels through space and time, saving different worlds. I kept begrudging myself for not writing to the BBC to bring it back, but they would never have listened to me- I would just be a 'hormonal teenager with pipe dreams' to them.

Right at that moment, I looked up at Miss Costello, seeing the red-hot anger in her eyes as she smiled with venom. Her mouth started moving, but I couldn't hear her say anything until I felt Mariam kick me, when I heard "Is that clear, _Montana_?" I cringed as I realised I faced the concept of two more years of people singing those dreadful, shitty Hannah Montana songs at me, asking for my 'autograph', telling me to fuck off back to Hollywood so that I could record more songs and then ordering me to take more slutty photos of myself so that they could appear on the Internet. I had suffered two years of that torment at secondary school, and I was certain that Miss Costello could see the torment of it in my eyes as I whispered; "Yes, Miss."

An hour later, after we had finished talking about the curriculum that lay ahead of us for the next two years, we were finally dismissed from the classroom. I think that everyone in the room sensed my discomfort that day, because a boy with a swept fringe ran up to me in the Grounds after the lesson and introduced himself as Luke. He smiled, and said; "Miss Costello doesn't appear to like you too much, Gav." I smiled for the first time that day when he called me by my preferred name.

"I know," I shrugged off Mariam, who was trying to pull me towards the Science Block. "But I won't let her get to me- I've mastered English, now it's just History I have to nail." We shared a laugh, and he asked where I was headed next. I said "HL Biology with Doctors Harper and Smith, a brief talk-over thing about my C.A.S. with Miss Sato, and then I have to go and see Mrs. Williams about some Debating thing."

"I've got the same!" Luke smiled, then took my hand and led me to the classroom, with Mariam tagging behind us. I looked back and mouthed "Sorry!" she mouthed "It's okay." With a laugh.

We made it to the classroom in record time. The three of us looked at the door which declared; _"Dr. O. Harper & Dr J. Smith, Biology, International Baccalaureate"_ and stepped in to face the music.


	4. Biology Part I

_Note: There actually IS a boy on the same course as me with a name similar to Olutu, just to avoid any confusion._

**The International Baccalaureate**

**Chapter Four: Biology, Part I**

We entered the room and saw a tall, skinny man in a brown pinstripe suit and faded red Converse trainers with thick brown hair messing around with the computer at his desk. He looked up at us from the mountain of paper that surrounded him and smiled slightly.

"Ah!" He stood up- he was a lot taller than I thought him to be. We walked over to us and shook each of us by the hand. "Welcome, welcome!" He said enthusiastically. I let out a breathy laugh by accident- it was a relief to have a teacher who was as enthusiastic about the sciences as I was. Back in secondary school, Mrs. Osekita had been almost evil. The Devil makes work for idle hands, do they say? Well, she was idle, and she forced us to re-do all of our coursework until it was at _least_ an A. Then there was Miss Hubrecht. She was _brilliant_, but it was a massive shame that she didn't take us for the Biology and Chemistry units- I probably would have fared better than a C in Chemistry if I had a sweet teacher like her. She didn't even _look_ like a secondary school teacher- she was too cute and looked like she should have been in a primary school. Miss Gorman on the other hand... now _she_ was enthusiastic about History! She talked a lot, and pretty loudly, too. Everyone else complained about her, but I loved her for it, even if I _did_ need an umbrella since I sat in the front row...

"Is something funny, Miss..." he struggled to place my name, and I sent a silent prayer thanking whoever was up there that Mr. Harkness' praise hadn't reached the Science faculty. "Sorry," he apologised. "You have to give me your names."

"Mariam."

"Luke."

"Hannah," I said softly. "But I prefer to be called Gavvy."

"Right," the teacher said. "I'm Doctor Smith, but I prefer to be called the Doctor. Gavvy... why does that sound... Oh! You're Jack's History buff!" _Oh god. I prayed too soon._

"Gee," I said awkwardly. "You heard about that, huh?" I looked at Luke and Mariam, the latter giving me a pissed off expression which said "_Again? Are you sure you're not telling these people yourself?_"

"How could I not hear about it?" The Doctor smiled. He wrapped his arm around me and led me to a desk at the front of the room, the one nearest the window and the wall. Mariam and Luke followed. The Doctor took his arm off of me and smiled. "I can tell you're going to be a brilliant student, Gav," he beamed. "What did you get for GCSE Science?"

"I did the Triple Award course," I said shyly, carefully choosing my words. "I got an A in Biology, a B in Physics and a C in Chemistry."

"...easy as 1, 2, 3!" The Doctor sang jokily. Mariam, Luke and I gave uneasy laughs, but our discomfort was unseen. "Really, though, why the difference in the grades?"

"Well, when I was re-sitting the Physics exam," I explained. "I was given the wrong paper, and it had to be taken away halfway through so I was really panicky when I got the right one. With Chemistry, let's just say that we never got along." The Doc gave a laugh and slapped my shoulder playfully.

After a few minutes, the room was filled with students and the Doctor introduced himself- he was from East Anglia- hence his strangely posh accent- and he had attended Cambridge earning a 2(i) degree in Physics, which meant that instead of 'Mister' Smith- Physics Teacher he was a Doctor Smith- Physics Professor, and he also earned an honorary degree in Biology after publishing a paper in a highbrow science academia quarterly, or a science magazine that came out every three months to the roomful of already-bored teenagers. Mariam and I were sat next to each other, as usual, and the Doctor started the lesson on Evolution after outlining the basic course of the next two years.

"Can anybody tell me what the Theory of Evolution is?" He asked, after writing 'EVOLUTION' in the middle of the electronic whiteboard. A boy in the back of the class spoke up; "A completely rubbish theory what says that humans evolved from monkeys and all that, innit?" I cringed at his primitive conduct of the English language.

"No." The Doctor said, narrowing his eyes at the boy. "You are actually quite wrong on that one, Olutu is it? I have to say, your prejudgement of the Theory is quite appalling, so appalling that I'm ashamed to be in the same room as you. Gavvy," he looked at me cheerily. "Maybe you could enlighten Olutu and the rest of us on the Theory of Evolution?" I felt everyone's eyes on me. I turned back and looked at Luke. Unlike the over boys in the class who were giving me the same look I received in History, Luke was giving me a look which told me; "Go ahead- don't be afraid." I looked at the Doctor, who was giving me much the same look, and after drawing a shaky breath, I started talking;

"Evolutionary biologists document the fact that evolution occurs, and also develop and test theories that explain its causes. The study of evolutionary biology began in the mid-nineteenth century, when research into the fossil record and the diversity of living organisms convinced most scientists that species changed over time. However, nobody officially knew what Evolution was until Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace developed theories of Natural Selection. "It takes one to know one", as they say, but no one of this generation knows Charles Darwin because he lived two hundred years ago. He developed the theory that all organisms come from one common ancestor- an amoeba, or, in layman's terms, 'a puddle of sludge in a swamp somewhere'. Darwin noticed from his observations that many organisms often produced more offspring than could survive. For example, when a frog produces frogspawn, around half of the frogspawn hatched to become tadpoles, and a quarter of the tadpoles survived to become frogs to breed again. Darwin called this 'Survival of the Fittest'. So, billions of years ago, the strongest amoeba evolved into tadpole-like creatures, the tadpoles evolved into frog-like creatures, the frogs grew legs and the strongest evolved into squirrels which evolved into monkey-like creatures. The cleverest and strongest of these monkey-creatures evolved into specific geni such as Homo Neanderthalensis and Homo Sapiens, or the Neanderthal and modern-day humans." I closed off, and the Doctor was looking at me with ecstasy.

"Wow, just wow." He sounded really happy. "Give her a round of applause, ladies and gentlemen- Gavvy's a genius!" There was scattered clapping, which made me blush with embarrassment. For five years at my secondary school, I had been shunned because I had an ability that nobody else had- I was able to speak _correctly_, and _intelligently_. I had put the ostracism down to everyone else being utterly juvenile, unwilling to listen, and had figured that people would be more mature in college. How mistaken I was. It looked that I'd have to wait until University to fit in properly...


	5. Biology Part II

_Hello. Sorry it took so long to update this- I started college last week, and had to concentrate on my lessons, which are BRILLIANT! I LOVE my Italian teacher- he's hilarious, enthusiastic and passionate about the subject he teaches. I actually AM being taught by two doctors in biology- Dr. Schofield and Dr. Seveno, my Mathematical Studies teacher is a bit of a git, but he'll probably grow on me. RE... we had to draw our relationship with God, and I drew a picture of Hell, Hahahaha! English- I have two teachers, Emily and Nick, and I swear that Nick is GAY! I don't really mind, though- the gayer the better! My Psychology teacher is a Hippie. That's all I'm saying. Oh, and we are actually doing the Unification of Italy in History, which is actually quite interesting. Not the college experience I had hoped for as you can tell by this fic, but I digress... this is part II of Biology. _

**Chapter Five: Biology Part II**

"Now," the Doctor said after finishing the spider diagram we had been working on over the past hour. He looked up at the clock- nearly three and half an hour to prepare for Mathematical Studies. "Doctor Harper will be here shortly- he should have been here before me, actually- and you will-"

"Sorry I'm late! Sorry I'm late!" Called a thick cockney accent as someone dressed in an argyle jumper and a pair of blue jeans ran into the room, throwing a satchel onto the front desk, knocking over a tower of paperwork. "John, you idiot!" he hissed at the Doctor. "You were supposed to leave a message on the desk for me!"

"I did." The Doctor hissed back, reaching over the mounds of paper to grab a small pink post-it and waving it in front of the cockney man's face. The man took it and read it, blushing a light pink as his eyes scanned the words, and then he turned to us. "Nice of you to join us. Class, this is Doctor Owen Harper. Now, Owen, as you can see," the Doctor. "I've already started the lesson, and we only have about five minutes left." Then the Doc looked over the room, his eyes landing on me. I tried my best to conceal myself, but no means of hiding would have stopped him from saying; "Oh, and Owen, have you met Jack's genius? She's trying to hide behind her textbook."

I groaned, and Mariam kicked my leg. I turned and gave her a look. While I let my textbook drop to the bench, I looked back at the two doctors as they both beamed at me. I knew why every teacher in this school seemed to know who I was, and why they seemed to be so eager and proud of me even though they had only just started teaching me. It was because Mr. Harkness had bragged about me to all of them. Right there and then, I hated him- he had given the teachers reason to have insatiably high expectations of me, it was only the first day of lessons, and the course lasted for two fucking _years_. I knew exactly what I had to do- I had to confront him, and I had to reason with him, ask him not to praise me to the other teachers anymore, because otherwise, something awful could happen, and his name would be written...

The klaxon rang, and I was the first out of the classroom. I made my way over the bridge to the South Building, where my History class was. I made it just in time as the last student was leaving, and found myself alone with Mr. Harkness.

"Gavvy! I'm happy to see you- none of my other students hold a candle to..." He said happily, but as he trailed off his joy faded when he saw the fury in my eyes. "What's wrong?"

"You," I said softly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Harkness, but I've had a pretty bad day today, and I think it started with you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," I said, keeping my voice calm. "I mean that it seems like you've been praising me too much, and the teachers I've seen today- you, Miss Costello, Mr. Jones, Mrs. Williams, Doctor Smith and Doctor Harper- they all look at me like I'm a prize pig. I can see that they're making all sorts of plans for me, and I don't think I'll be able to handle it because it seems like too much."

"So?" He said with a breathy laugh. "What's so bad about that? It's good to have people believe in you, isn't it?"

"Not for me," I admitted, looking down. "I can't handle so many people taking so much pride and putting so much faith in me, because, if I fail, then it will all have been for nothing."

"Don't say that." He tried to reassure me. "Let me ask you something- you're so smart, you're so talented, and you're so lacking in self-esteem. I've met the girls who got either all A's, all A*'s or a mix of both, and you know what you have that they don't?"

"What?" I said, trying to remain calm- I was nearly late for my C.A.S. talk.

"You have personality." He smiled, taking one of my hands. "I can tell that you are happy to learn, eager to learn, and you know you will always learn. I bet you don't think much of yourself, but believe me, you're more than what you think. You know what universities like? Of course, they like you to have the grades to back your placement up, but to them, even to Cambridge and Oxford, the grades are just a benefit, a feather in their cap to ask 'We've got the best of the best- what have you got?' but what they really want is a student with potential, with the right attitude. Those girls I met? They're just going to university because they're parents want them to. They're just going because they want to be doctors, barristers, lawyers... all the huge job labels. Miss Gorman told me that you want to teach, and your reason was, and I'm sure still is, because you wouldn't feel like you were helping if you were sitting backstage like a doctor while the surgeon actually dug into the patient, or if you were a lawyer because you would just be watching your bank account grow instead of concentrating on helping anyone. You want to teach because you will actually _see_ the people you're helping. Do you know how amazing that is, Gavvy? I got into teaching for that very reason, and so did Mr. Jones. Miss McDonald called Miss Costello, to praise you, and then she called me, to warn me about Suzie's attitude towards you, and she told me that you were her best student because _you_ were the only one who was quiet, who was willing to learn. Gavvy, those girls bear no mark of personality- they're mannequins. But you, Gavvy, are a woman, and you'll be an amazing teacher when you qualify."

Any normal person would be moved to tears by a speech like that, but I wasn't- I learned long ago to block out words of encouragement. To me, they're just words of weakness, and if I let words like that get to me, then I knew I would fail, and I would have no further incentive to improve myself- that's why I always look for the negative aspects of life.

"Than you sir," I said softly, and turned away, walking out of the room, towards the S3 staircase towards the East Building, or, to the other students, the 'Politics, Law, Undergraduation and Student Services' building. I was headed towards Miss Sato's room, where my interview awaited.


	6. The End Of The Day

_Hi guys! Okay- this is going to be the final chapter of The International Baccalaureate. I'm sorry it took so long to update- this course is really killing me! I may do a spin-off of this, although that would be around Christmas time, depending on how much homework I have left._

_Enjoy mi amici! _

**Chapter Six: The End of the Day**

I closed Miss Sato's door behind me as I left. She seemed nice enough, but was quite grumpy about the fact that I didn't do an ICT GCSE. I just shrugged it off when she asked why I didn't, and she let the chat progress. She was a lovely Japanese woman with a soft voice and a smile made of sugar.

We spoke about what I planned to do over the next two years, with my answer being that Mariam and I would try to recreate the Sociology project in the book _Pay It Forward_, where we encourage everyone in the college each term- one Area at a time- to help three people, and to tell those three people to help another three people, and so on and so forth until, in theory- everyone in Lewisham, Deptford, Bermondsey, Rotherhithe and maybe even Dulwich and Camberwell had helped at least one person.

That was the theory, anyway, but, as Miss Sato quite rightly pointed out, we would need to prove that the people in the college had done three deeds- I explained that we would give everyone three small slips which each person they helped had to sign, unless they planned on doing more than three, in which case a notebook from WH Smith's would suffice.

And then she mentioned speaking to Mrs. Williams... about a certain club. A _debate_ club, which she thought would be better for me since it's all three- Creativity, Action and Service- in one hit, so that would be my 150 hours completed after two meetings twice a week for seventy-five weeks. Fantastic! Either way, I wasn't going to go- I couldn't be bothered with arguing when I already had History homework piling up.

Then that's where I left.

I walked down the hall, scanning through my timetable to see what I had the day after:

_Friday- IENG1, S. Costello. IMAT2- I. Jones. IITA2- G. Cutaia. IPSY2- I. Jones._

Wow. Miss Costello two days in a row... Fan-fucking-tastic. Then I had the same teacher, Mr. Jones, twice in one day. I figured he must have been good, but I didn't pay much attention as I bumped into him on my way out.

"Sorry, Gav, I don't do dancing!" He said jokily, and then his look turned serious. "I spoke to Jack about two minutes after you left. He was quite upset. I must say, for such a young girl you are very old in your words."

"How?" I mumbled, itching to get out.

"You won't accept encouragement. I understand you have me for Psychology tomorrow. We'll be studying emotions and past experiences. I urge you to research a theory called the Like-Like Principle. You may find that it's perhaps the most intriguing thing you will ever have heard of." With that, he left, up the stairs and turning right, towards the History room where no doubt Mr. Harkness awaited his lover-boy.

I continued on my way, down the hill and towards the exit, Mr. Harkness' words ringing in my head: "_Gavvy, those girls bear no mark of personality- they're mannequins. But you, Gavvy, are a woman, and you'll be an amazing teacher when you qualify._"

I started to think that maybe he was right; maybe I was better than those girls in the sense that I was enthusiastic about my work.

As I left, I passed Mariam- she was surrounded by Luke and some of the others who were in our Biology class. I called out to her, but either she didn't hear me, or she didn't want to reply. I just shrugged and gave up when she ignored me, leaving, considering the two years ahead of me, how Mariam seemed to have 'outgrown' me already. But most of all, Jack's words stuck to me, and I began to feel like I was wrong about my views on life.

_Oh well,_ I decided, _maybe things will get better._

I reached the bus stop, and looked back at the college, smiling a little. I had done it- I had mixed with people for the first time successfully, and I hadn't been ridiculed once, but there were still two years to go, and as I stared up at the sky, it came crashing down on me exactly how hard I would have to work.


End file.
